How to Watch Vikings vs. Colts, NFL Preseason: Streaming, Radio, Betting Line, Preview

After their backups were routed 33-6 by the Broncos in the preseason opener, the Vikings are hoping for a better result when they host the Colts on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Minnesota held out over 30 players against Denver, including just about every single starter on both sides of the ball. That won't be the case this week. The Vikings are expected to play most of their healthy starters, so this should be an entirely different type of game, at least early on.

"I think we need to have a little success," Mike Zimmer said this week. "I think we need to build a little confidence. That’s why most of our guys will end up playing some."

Exactly how much the starters will play is unclear. Will Kirk Cousins and company get a couple series on offense or an entire half? Will any starters on offense or defense play into the third quarter, perhaps at positions where there's still a bit of competition going on? Only Zimmer and others within the Vikings know the answer to those questions — although some of the playing time stuff could actually be decided as the game unfolds.

“Like I told the coaches, ‘Just tell them to play until I tell them to get out.'" Zimmer said. "There’s no set number of plays that they’re going to play. Just however I feel. Like, I was talking to Adam Thielen today, and he said it’s important that we go through the pregame routine — get pumped up to go and all the structure of what we’re going to go through for a game — as well. I probably should have had them do that last week. They just came and worked out last week, and they didn’t go through that pregame stuff. They’ll do all that this week, and we’ll go from there."

Offensively, Cousins will get the start before handing things over to Jake Browning and Kellen Mond. Justin Jefferson almost certainly won't play as he continues recovering from a shoulder injury, but we might see Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, and Irv Smith Jr. early on. The first-team offensive line will also get some important work after sitting out last week.

On the defensive side, plenty of big-time players will likely make their Vikings debuts, including Michael Pierce, Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson, Bashaud Breeland, and Xavier Woods. Other stars like Danielle Hunter, Harrison Smith, and Eric Kendricks could see the field as well. Anthony Barr is hurt and won't play.

Once again, this will be an important game for kicker Greg Joseph and punter Britton Colquitt to prove themselves, as well as a number of players looking to earn jobs at kick returner and punt returner.

Going against the Colts — a team with a lot of talent on the offensive line, at the skill positions, and on defense — should be a good test for the Vikings to see where they're at. The second half will be big for players further down the roster battling for roster spots and backup roles.

Here's some content to check out before kickoff:

And here's how to watch, stream, or listen to the game:

Broadcast Information

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN

Game Time: 7:00 pm. CT

TV Channel: FOX 9 in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Radio: 100.3 KFAN

Betting line: Vikings -2, O/U 37.5

Online/Streaming: NFL GamePass

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